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More millennials buying homes without parents’ help

Younger homeowners are increasingly buying first homes, without the Bank of Mom and Dad.

Sometimes they go it alone out of a desire for independence; sometimes it’s a reflection of their parents’ financial realities. Whatever the reason, area real estate agents say the trend speaks well ofmillennialhomebuyers.

According to theNational Association of Realtors, millennials were the largest generation of homebuyers in 2015 at 35 percent, and 67 percent of them were first-timers. The association’s 2016 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” report notes that the second-most popular way for first-time buyers to finance their down payment was a gift from a relative or friend, at 24 percent – a drop from 27 percent in 2015. (Savings was the preferred choice among 76 percent of respondents.)